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When Eric Haller graduated with a degree in finance from San Diego State University in 1990, he didn’t have a clear idea of what he wanted to do. If he was on the east coast, he probably would have gone to work at an investment bank, but he ended up as a statistical analyst at Visa in Foster City, and would later say it was a case of being in the right place at the right time.

In 1882, just three years after he had almost literally shocked the world with his revolutionary lighting system, Thomas Edison opened his Pearl Street Station, the first commercial electrical distribution plant in the United States. By 1884 it was already servicing over 500 homes. Up till that point, electric light was mostly a curiosity. While a few of the mighty elite could ...

Technology does not produce progress by itself, we need to find important problems for it to solve and then must change how we work in order to take advantage of it. So while smartphone apps are cool and add convenience to our lives, the real impact of digital technology lies in front of us...

We aim to optimize performance, hence the business term: Performance Management. Sounds simple, but of course it isn’t. Humans have a lust for control and have developed quite a few mental concepts to ‘control’ performance management; processes, ratings, manuals, competency frameworks, forms, collective labor agreements, etc.

Whilst the practice of “build-test-fail-learn-iterate” can lead to elegant innovation and superior user experiences in relatively simple, linear 1:1 company-customer markets such as consumer goods or tech, in markets characterised by many stakeholders with often competing interests, design thinking is less effective.

If you have ever had a goal that seems out of reach, beyond your ability, self- transformation is the key to succeeding. Self-transformation is the ability to intentionally provide yourself with experience that increases your abilities.

This is another article about Quantum Idea Generation a process proven to generate at least 12 X more ideas than brainstorming. In previous articles, I've addressed the first two of four Quantum Idea Generation elements – diversity and stimulus.